Emergency grant aid for the presidential and parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste

Date: 16 Feb 2007

Emergency grant aid for the presidential and parliamentary elections in Timor-Leste

The Government of Japan decided on February 16 (Fri) to provide emergency grant aid of 723,855 US dollars through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in Timor-Leste.

Japan has been extending assistance proactively to Timor-Leste for the consolidation of peace and its nation-building efforts, under the recognition that stability and development in Timor-Leste are extremely important for the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region. The upcoming elections will be the first to be held by the Government of Timor-Leste. As Japan recognizes these elections to be important as a touchstone for the success of its nation-building, it has decided to extend emergency grant aid to support the smooth implementation of the elections.

This assistance focuses on the wide range of support for the organizations which will be in charge of the electoral administration, such as voter registration, setting up of voting stations, and ballot counting, and the support for the training for the media and the political parties of Timor-Leste to play their appropriate roles, from the view point of supporting the democratic implementation of the elections.